Courage In Healthcare

In this series on rural health in America, we’re diving into the issues that are threatening access to care in some of our most medically underserved communities. Our third and final episode focuses on the financial viability of rural hospitals. We will hear from Alan Morgan of the National Rural Health Association, Brad Huerta, CEO of Lost Rivers, and Dr. Mark Holmes, a professor of health policy and management at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. These experts will help us understand the impact hospital closures are having on the health and wealth of America’s rural populations and what measures are being taken to protect the healthcare organizations we cannot afford to lose.

In this series on rural health in America, we’re diving into the issues that are threatening access to care in some of our most medically underserved communities. This episode focuses on the problem of physician shortages, which is particularly dire in rural areas, as well as the leaders who are trying to find creative ways to recruit doctors to the communities that need them most. We will hear from Dr. Curry of UAB again, as well as Alan Morgan of the National Rural Health Association, Bill Finerfrock of the National Association of Rural Health Clinics, and Brad Huerta, CEO of Lost Rivers, a thriving rural hospital in the small town of Arco, Idaho. Their expertise is invaluable to anyone struggling to find solutions to physician shortages in rural areas.

This episode kicks off our new series on rural healthcare in America. Rural populations are often medically underserved, and the hospitals and health systems that serve them are struggling to survive. In this series, we take a look at health disparities in rural America, as well as the healthcare professionals, government entities, and businesses that are trying to make sure every American has equal access to quality care and lifesaving technologies. Our hope is to shine a light on the leaders who are courageously finding a way forward in rural health.

This episode we speak with Dr. Ben Fickenscher, an emergency room physician from Chesapeake, VA. Dr. Fickenscher successfully implemented an innovative opioid use disorder treatment program at his health care system. In this episode, he speaks with us about the creation of the program, it’s early success, and how the coronavirus has impacted OUD treatment in his community and in the United States.

In this special episode of Courage In Healthcare, we speak with Drs. Arun and Barkha Chhabra. A married couple, Arun and Barkha share with us their experiences navigating the pandemic both as a family and as healthcare providers. We discuss the financial impact the virus has had on healthcare organizations, what physicians can do to better prepare themselves and their communities for outbreaks in the future, and how they’ve handled the challenges of the pandemic together.

In this special episode of Courage In Healthcare, we speak by phone with Dr. Katherine Williams, a practicing OBGYN and president of the Louisiana Medical Society. She shares with us her insights on maintaining a practice during the outbreak, the varying impact the virus has had on providers across different specialties, and the importance of care delivery amidst the fear of infection.

Covid-19 has altered our world in many ways. Members of the healthcare community have overcome unforeseen challenges and, in the process, they’ve learned a lot about what it takes to see their patients and their practices through a world-wide pandemic. In our next few episodes, we’ll be speaking with providers about the outbreak. We’ll discuss the setbacks they’ve had to handle, the lessons they’ve learned, and what the future might hold for healthcare and physician practices. In this episode, we speak with Dr. Victoria Rundus, a pediatrician practicing in Gallatin, TN. She shares her insights on the impact the virus and subsequent lockdown has had on our youth, and how her practice has been able to remain financially viable.

In this episode, we visit the Valley Health Cancer Center in Winchester, VA. When you walk through the doors of this remarkable place, you think of all the people who have found comfort here in the midst of an unthinkable struggle. Sunlight pours into the center’s two-story glass lobby. There are meditation rooms, prayer chapels, and even a healing garden where rocking chairs sit on a patio at the edge of a beautiful pond. The infusion center is positioned so that patients can look out over the garden during treatment. Before the center was built, cancer treatment in Winchester, VA took place in locations with dark hallways and crowded waiting rooms. Some had to be treated hours away from home, adding to the stress of living with the disease. Now, patients, their families, and their medical team have a place that was designed to help them find peace. The center is a shining example of the kind of impact a foundation can have on a community. I’m here to meet Kevin Callanan, the former executive director of The Valley Health Foundation and leader of the $10 million capital campaign that funded the center’s creation. A native of Virginia, Mr. Callanan attended VMI, and holds a master’s degree in philanthropy and development from LaGrange College. He served our nation for 28 years as an officer in the US Army, retiring in 2006 as a Lieutenant Colonel. During his 25-year fundraising career, Mr. Callanan has raised over $56 million for community hospitals and schools. His work with Valley Health was his biggest project to date. I wanted to find out more about the work that went into building this place, what role foundations play in supporting care delivery in our communities, and how they’re shaping the future of healthcare.

Dr. Grace Terrell is a highly regarded internal medicine physician from High Point, NC. In addition to practicing medicine, she has also served as CEO for Envision Genomics, Inc and CHESS, a population health management company. Today, she is the CEO of Eventus WholeHealth, a pioneering team of healthcare professionals who provide comprehensive, whole-person care to patients in skilled nursing facilities, assisted living facilities, and senior independent living facilities. In 1995, Dr. Terrell founded Cornerstone Health Care with seven other physicians. Cornerstone was one of the first organizations in the country to adopt a value-based care model, lowering the cost and improving the quality of care for their sickest, most vulnerable patients. Since her time at Cornerstone, Dr. Terrell has been a thought leader in the value-based care movement. Her latest book, Value-Based Healthcare and Payment Models: Including Frontline Strategies for 20 Clinical Subspecialties, provides practical, no-nonsense advice on how to transition to value-based care. In this episode, we talk with Dr. Terrell about her experience at the forefront of this movement, what it takes to successfully transition to a new care model, and what the future holds for value-based care.

Making sports safer for athletes is one of today’s top issues in healthcare. There’s more awareness than ever before regarding the danger of concussions, but we still have a long way to go before we fully understand head trauma and how it’s affecting our athletes.  In this episode of Courage in Healthcare, we speak with Dr. Paul Reiman, an orthopedic surgeon based in Tumecula, CA. Dr. Reiman’s life-long passion for motorsports influenced his professional interests from the start. Over the course of his career, he’s helped many professional riders recover from injuries to get back on the podium. In 2009 he joined the Alpinestars Mobile Medical Unit. He currently serves as the unit’s lead physician and heads their concussion program. To better understand concussions and to make all sports safer for athletes, his team has partnered with the nation’s leading concussion research organizations. We sat down with Dr. Reiman to talk about about his love of motorcycles and how he hopes his passion will lead to breakthroughs in concussion research.

In last week’s episode, we learned about the challenges the Adlakhas faced when they left their home in India to make a life here in America. Dr. Adlakha believes these challenges prepared him to play the role he was meant to play in the lives of others. His presence in America allowed him to lead his family through difficult times and pave the way for his daughter’s success. Dr. Adlakha says that none of this would have been possible if he hadn’t had the loving support of the Gill family. Today, we will learn how Dr. Adlakha was able to repay the Gill family’s kindness and what he learned from his experiences.

In this two-part episode, we speak with Dr. Arun Adlakha, a pulmonologist based in Charlotte, NC. Arun and his wife, Kiran, met as medical students at CMC Ludhiana in India. In 1987, with a baby on the way, they made the decision to move to the United States. In part one of this episode, we will learn about the circumstances that led them to this decision and the challenges they would face as they reestablished their medical careers in an unfamiliar country. This move required the Adlakhas to leave their families and defy the plans that had been made for them. Their story reminds us of the courage it takes to commit to a calling in the face of adversity.

During the catastrophic flooding event that devastated the Midwest in 2008, Columbus Regional suffered extensive damage and was forced to remain closed for over three months. Dr. Sonderman led his hospital through this dark time in a way that showed remarkable courage. Without revenue coming in, his team continued to pay the hospital’s employees and coordinated the delivery of emergency care with the help of mobile units from across the country. Dr. Sonderman made sure his hospital continued to honor its responsibility to its community even when its doors were shut.

We are proud to announce the launch of our new podcast, Courage in Healthcare. In this series, we will speak with leaders in the healthcare community who have seen their organizations through trying times. It’s our hope to inspire others with these remarkable stories of innovation and perseverance and introduce the professionals behind them, whose courage has left an incredible mark on their communities. The first episode will go live in July 2019. We look forward to sharing these stories with you. If you have a story of courage to tell and would like to share it, please let us know. We would love to hear from you